1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an interface unit in electronic music systems that contains MIDI input terminals (input means) and MIDI output terminals (output means) through which MIDI data can be respectively inputted and outputted under the enacted MIDI transmission protocol, and to data storage medium which stores programs to be read out by a machine (computer) for functioning said interface unit.
2. Description of the Related Art
To control the function of a musical sound generation system, MIDI data exchange under MIDI transmission protocol has been widely employed in order to define generation timing of a musical note, its pitch, its timbre, its intensity, its modulation effect etc. Note that xe2x80x9cMIDIxe2x80x9d stands for Musical Instrument Digital Interface. This MIDI transmission protocol treats only unidirectional serial data transmission in relatively lower speed, and the number of channels, namely musical parts in ensemble music, that can be treated in one line is limited to sixteen (16). Therefore, an interface unit comprising eight (8) input means, eight (8) output means, and eight (8) xe2x80x9cthroughxe2x80x9d means, connected directly to the input means to output the inputted signal without any modification, have been in ordinary usage in most of the system in which said MIDI data are sent and received.
Recently with the increase of number of notes which can be generated in chorus from a musical sound generator, the number of channels which can be treated in one generator is becoming more than sixteen (16). This channel number increase requires the system more advanced function and capability to manage a larger number of parameters. As to computer connection capability, in addition to said MIDI input means and MIDI output means, a bi-directional (reciprocative) input and/or output (hereinafter written xe2x80x9cinput/outputxe2x80x9d) means which functions under so-called xe2x80x9cTO HOSTxe2x80x9d transmission protocol (hereinafter called xe2x80x9cTO HOST input/output meansxe2x80x9d) has recently been introduced in new types of interface unit. Furthermore, still more advanced interface units are gradually becoming popular replacing xe2x80x9cTO HOST input/output meansxe2x80x9d by xe2x80x9cUSBxe2x80x9d or xe2x80x9cIEEE1394xe2x80x9d (hereinafter called xe2x80x9cUSB input/output meansxe2x80x9d and xe2x80x9cIEEE input/output meansxe2x80x9d) which are bi-directional input/output means of greater speed than xe2x80x9cTO HOST input/output meansxe2x80x9d.
In any of the above-described existing interface units, only one of the three means, namely, USB input/output means, IEEE input/output means and TO HOST input/output means is equipped, in addition to MIDI input means and MIDI output means. Therefore, it is possible to input/output a large quantity of data through one of the three means, however, it is impossible to provide the interface unit with another MIDI input means and MIDI output means for an equally large quantity of data, especially because the MIDI input means and the MIDI output means require physical space of the interface unit for their connecting terminals.
For this reason, it was impossible with the existing interface units to extract full capability of a large electronic music system by transmitting efficiently much data each other among the connected units, especially when many electronic music units having only MIDI input/output means, other units having both MIDI input/output means and other input/output means using other transmission protocol than MIDI transmission protocol such as TO HOST input/output means, are connected in the whole system. The present invention is to resolve the above-said inefficiency found in relatively big electronic music systems.
It is therefore a primary object of the present invention to provide an interface unit which makes ample use of a large number of electronic music units by transmitting a large quantity of data among the units. The invented system can produce richer music by exchanging much information quantity, since it can adopt not only music units having only MIDI input means and MIDI output means, but also music units having, in addition to MIDI input means and MIDI output means, different input/output means working under different transmission protocol from MIDI transmission protocol such as TO HOST input/output means.
More specifically, it is an object of the present invention to provide an interface unit (system), for inputting and outputting data, comprising MIDI input terminals through which MIDI data can be inputted under MIDI transmission protocol, MIDI output terminals through which MIDI data can be outputted under MIDI transmission protocol, first terminal through which MIDI data can be inputted and outputted under first transmission protocol different from MIDI transmission protocol, second terminal through which MIDI data can be inputted and outputted under transmission protocol different from both MIDI transmission protocol and said first transmission protocol. In this system, a processor, connected to said MIDI input terminals, said MIDI output terminals, said first terminal, and said second terminal, is adapted to input and output data through said terminals.
In the invented system described above, in case a big quantity of data are inputted not only by MIDI input terminals (or MIDI input means) from various music units such as electronic musical instruments, sequencers, sound generation units etc. but by the first input/output terminals (the first input/output means) from other units such as computers, musical instruments, it is possible to output data, not only to various music units by MIDI output means, but by the second input/output terminals (the second input/output means), to other units such as interface units, various music units, computers, and moreover to still other various music units, computers etc. connected in succeeding signal transmission stream. This results in enabling the system to generate richer music by making ample use of a large number of electronic music units with efficient transmission of a big quantity of data among the units in the system.
It is another object of this invention to provide said interface unit, wherein said processor is adapted to input and output data through said terminals in accordance with relationship of inputting and outputting among said MIDI input terminals, said MIDI output terminals, said first terminal, and said second terminal. The relationship is defined by conditions, which can be altered to determine which terminal, said MIDI input terminals, said MIDI output terminals, said first terminal, or said second terminal, should be selected to output the data inputted through said terminals. The interface unit is connected to another processor which is adapted to determine said conditions.
The processor in the interface unit functions in accordance with the input/output conditions set by a user""s preference to select one terminal out of MIDI output terminals, said first input/output terminals, and said second input/output terminals, to output the data inputted via anyone among the MIDI input terminals, said first input/output terminals, and said second input/output terminals. This makes it possible to achieve freer data transmission via this new interface system, resulting in making maximal use of a large number of connected music units.
According to one aspect of the above-described invention, the data are transmitted through said first and said second terminals under different transmission protocols each other. More specifically, the data are transmitted through said first terminal under USB transmission protocol and through said second terminals under TO HOST transmission protocol.
With this aspect, it is possible to utilize not only (A)the input/output terminals for data inputting/outputting under certain transmission protocols used in ordinary computers (for ex. USB transmission protocol), but (B)the input/output terminals for data inputting/outputting under certain transmission protocols used in existing electronic music units (for ex., TO HOST transmission protocol). This enables the user to transmit the data for a large number of existing music units and to easily manipulate the data for various music units.
It is another object of this invention to provide a method for controlling inputting and outputting data through an interface unit, having MIDI input terminals, MIDI output terminals, first and second terminals, comprising a step of determining relationship of inputting and outputting among said MIDI input terminals, said MIDI output terminals, said first terminal and said second terminal, in accordance with the conditions, which can be altered to determine which terminal, said MIDI input terminals, said MIDI output terminals, said first terminal, or said second terminal, should be selected to output the data inputted through said terminals, and a step of inputting MIDI data through said MIDI input terminals under MIDI transmission protocol, outputting MIDI data through said MIDI output terminals under MIDI transmission protocol, inputting or outputting MIDI data through said first terminal under first transmission protocol different from MIDI transmission protocol, and inputting or outputting MIDI data through said second terminal under second transmission protocol different from both MIDI transmission protocol and said first transmission protocol.
According to another aspect of the above-described invention, said first transmission protocol is different from said second transmission protocol. More specifically, said first transmission protocol is USB transmission protocol, and said second transmission protocol is TO HOST transmission protocol.
It is another aspect of the above-described invention, said determining step further comprises a step of displaying editing image showing input terminals along with one axis and output terminals along with the other axis perpendicular to said axis, and a step of displaying relationship of said input terminals and said output terminals designated (by the user) on said editing image.
It is another object of this invention to provide a machine readable medium containing instructions for causing said machine to perform a method for controlling inputting and outputting MIDI data through an interface unit having MIDI input terminals through which MIDI data can be outputted under MIDI transmission protocol, first terminal through which MIDI data can be inputted and outputted under transmission protocol different from MIDI transmission protocol, and second terminal through which data can be inputted and outputted under transmission protocol different from both MIDI transmission protocol and said first transmission protocol, said method comprising determining relationship of inputting and outputting among said MIDI input terminals, said MIDI output terminals, said first terminal, and said second terminal, in accordance with conditions, which can be altered to determine which terminal, said MIDI input terminals, said MIDI output terminals, said first terminal, or said second terminal, should be selected to output the data inputted through said terminals.
By storing program including said instructions in a machine, such as a PC unit connected to this interface unit, the interface unit itself, or various music units having this interface unit, it becomes possible to designate easily various input/output conditions of data transmission among MIDI input terminals, MIDI output terminals, and the first and the second input/output terminals. In such a case, said determining step further comprising the steps of displaying editing image showing input terminals along with one axis and output terminals along with the other axis perpendicular to said axis, and displaying relationship of said input terminals and said output terminals designated on said editing image.